BASIC ALPHABET and sentence tuition, featuring floating spongelike cartoon CHARLIE, and scary stop-motion stories with the words lighting up on the screen as they were spoken. Set in a public library; the “We’ve got a new book in” introduction set up the theme of the show. Funny how this herd of unsupervised kids just turned up out of nowhere, though. HENRY WOOLF was nominally in charge, later replaced by VICKI IRELAND. Stuck in our minds are animations like Lazy Lion, Cool Cat (who played a double bass with such gusto that in true cartoon style he drove the spike through the ground which gave way below him, causing him to fall down the “Acme Bottomless pit type 1 UK issue”) and various other alliterative animals. The format was always the same – a basic loop of the animal in question, with that jazzy, laid back tune, pause – “Cool! Cat!”, ba-dum, bum, bom – and round it went again. And again. Plus the magic pencil, displaying in great detail how to write a particular letter: “Top to bottom, over…and down”. Those scary model ones (the central ‘story’ of each show) included various folktales; the butcher and his wife whose every wish comes true – ‘I wish your nose was a sausage!’ – cue rather alarming visual representation of same; the Jack O’Lantern pumpkin that came alive and hobbled to people’s doorsteps on a staff-and-boot combo; that one about a mouse/man thing who walked for hundreds of miles and met various ‘travelling tinkers’ (their expression) who offered him a new pair of shoes, a new pair of socks, and, hideously, a NEW PAIR OF FEET (he just unscrewed the old ones); and the infamous Frog and Toad animations, which we think also turned up on Play School from time to time. They were scary, though – it was the way the eyes rolled around and the long pauses between sentences. The kids meanwhile got on with making things and doing stuff, all under the watchful eye of Charlie, although he inevitably got a bit carried away with whatever activity they were doing and ending up covered in paint/glue etc – cue presenter and kids en masse: “Chaaaaarlie!” And it was always Halloween – much apple-bobbing, and so on: “We’re witches of Halloween, wooo-oo/Our faces are yellow and green, wooo-ooo.” Words and Pictures also turned up in, of all places, THREADS, educating post-bomb survivors in basic literacy. A chilling thought, in more ways than one.
| TOP TO BOTTOM, UP AND OVER |
11 responses
Was there a Christmas-themed animation where a chocolate watch observes the fairy on top of the tree fall into a coal scuttle? Or is that a combination of old stop-motion nightmares?
Posted on December 27th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
One of the great omissions from the recent Radiophonic Workshop retrospective CD was the full version of Paddy Kingsland’s excellent W&P theme. I recall an odd film on the programme that was something to do with images on a fruit machine – the music was a fantastic “dub” version of the theme, that rocked like a bastard. Used to have this on audio cassette, taped live off the telly. Damn.
Posted on December 29th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
The joyful nostalgia of watching W & P clips on You Tube was unfortunately marred for me when in early spring 2008 I watched the drama ‘Threads’. The bouncy, happy, clunky theme tune which once made me smile whilst sitting on a dusty assembly school floor aged 6, now makes me wince…. Damn that fictional apocalyptic premonition of the mid 80’s : – ( However, it was a bloody good well made drama never the less…
Posted on December 31st, 2009 at 1:33 am
Letti sans wheelchair, where is she now …
Posted on December 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
My era was the end of the eighties and start of the nineties, transitioning from some rubbery fuck with dark hair into the Sophie Aldred era which for me is the definitive W&P. Favourite letter on the magic pencil: L. Because it was so simple. “Top to bottom and flick!” “Top to bottom and flick!” “Top to bottom and flick!” over and over. “Top to bottom and flick!” “Top to bottom and flick!” “HeadEx: apply directly to the forehead!”
Posted on January 1st, 2010 at 2:31 am
Credits fact: Film editor Eric Mival had previously worked on The Prisoner.
Posted on January 2nd, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Just think…someday Henry Woolf bantering with a floating and talking blob could be humanity’s last chance at preserving basic linguistic skills before the last of the pre-holocaust generation succumbs to cancer and packs of feral mutants roam the land…..Skeletons and SKULLS
Posted on January 3rd, 2010 at 12:10 am
Does anyone have an image/screen shot of the old, white, cartoon like wordy?
Posted on January 13th, 2010 at 4:52 pm
Does anyone remember the witchfrom words and pictures and where I could see it ????
Posted on March 22nd, 2010 at 3:58 pm
Henry Woolf is God.
Posted on May 5th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
Oh my god that pumpkin.
Posted on July 26th, 2010 at 5:30 pm
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